1st clover

[fourleafed]

Who: Yotsuba and anyone
Where: The Plaza
When: The 25th, middle of the day
Status: open
Style: starting post is action, but I'll match you

[Just after lunchtime, a small child can be found in the middle of the plaza. She is soaking wet, but she doesn't seem to care, since she's found something to amuse herself.

Namely, she's siting on a high-up branch of the coral, swinging her legs and laughing happily. She seems completely unaware of any danger she could possibly be in, too.]

It's so high up! I can see everything!

Comments

[bethehugejerk]

[He breathes a small sigh. Obviously she's new, with as wet as she is and where she was. He crouches down to be more on her level, and holds up the hand she's not grasping, palm out an open in the universal gesture for 'unarmed'. Even if he could have a sickle in its grasp in a second, thanks to the wonders of strife deck technology.]

I'm from a planet called Alternia, which is in a universe separate from yours. Our Empress invaded and conquered an Earth different from yours, but I'm not going to do anything like that, alright? I made you get down from the coral so you wouldn't hurt yourself, and agreed to let you put me in a timeout even though I could have resisted at any time. Even if humans are largely a bunch of idiots, I have enough of you as friends that I don't want to hurt you. Understand?

[fourleafed]

[Yeah no she doesn't really get most of that. Even the parts she does understand go in one ear and out the other, because Karkat is talking for a long time and he kind of loses her attention.

Plus she's more interested in looking at Karkat's hand, which has yellow claw-nail-things but otherwise looks like a human hand. She lets go of Karkat's other hand and holds hers up, placing it against his to compare the sizes.

She does seem more curious than scared now, though. Karkat's calm voice did help in that respect.]

...a good alien.

[She nods decisively after she says that.]

[bethehugejerk]

[Never let it be said Karkat has no patience. He lets Yotsuba do what she will with his hand and hers. There is a roughness to his hand built from using it. It's not a huge one, either, with a squarish palm and sturdy (but not quite stubby) fingers, but it's sure to be bigger than hers. It's definitely warm, too, but not enough to be unpleasant.]

Yes, that's the point I'm making.

[He'll count it as satisfactory if she gets that much. He's just not good at keeping things concise.]

[This is still really weird.]

Do you still want to put me in time out or no?

[fourleafed]

[Yotsuba shakes her head, and she lets go of Karkat.]

No, you're okay.

[And she immediately forgets that she had just been scared of Karkat.]

Let's get ice cream!

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat is never going to get used to children. He looks at her, and he weighs the pros and cons. It looks something like this:]

    PROS            CONS      
- ice cream | - lead a human
            |   child around
            |   and look like
            |   a weirdo

[He decides the ice cream is worth it.]

Okay, fine. Follow me, I know a place.

[fourleafed]

Ice cream!

[She is so happy now you have no idea. And she will pretty much follow Karkat anywhere now, she has no sense of stranger danger.]

[bethehugejerk]

[It's a good thing Karkat is one of the better trolls to trust, then. Not the best, considering there are others who are nicer and smarter, but he was definitely honest when he said he means her no harm.]

[He starts to walk, intending to lead her--then stops.]

Wait, you should probably dry off first. Go ask one of the shopkeepers for towels and you'll get more than you'll ever need, but you'll be as dry as you can get without getting fresh clothes.

[fourleafed]

Okay!

[Yotsuba just runs off then, and she goes into the nearest store. Hopefully Karkat doesn't mind waiting, because she is gone for a while, and when she returns she is wrapped up in a towel and carrying a large sucker.]

[bethehugejerk]

[He doesn't mind the wait, really. She seems like the sort of kid willing to talk to a lot of people, and it also gives him a chance to think. The oddness of this situation hasn't gone anywhere.]

[He does have to wonder: she doesn't have a custodian figure here, does she? She's made no mention of her dad being present, and if she was fresh with sea water when he saw her, it's doubtful he showed up with her. But on the same note, he knows trolls who've made it fine with minimal lusus presence since an age before the rest of his team lost theirs. If all else fails, there's bound to be humans around who know what to do in a case like this, or he could ask the Dolorosa.]

[He's still kicking himself for actually getting in an argument with a kid her age, though, much less the part where he climbed up the coral to try to get to her. Why is it that past Karkat is always, always stupider than current Karkat?]

[When Yotsuba returns, he draws his hand away from the pinch he's been giving the bridge of his nose. This is the last thing he's going to do for her, damnit.]

Why do you have a sucker when we're already going to get ice cream?

[But he motions for her to follow again, and starts walking just the same.]

[fourleafed]

[It's good that Karkat is thinking about these things, because Yotsuba really does need an adult. Her father didn't come to Vatheon along with her, and as soon as she realizes this she will probably start crying and need someone with good parental instincts to calm her down. And as awesome as Karkat is with kids, he is lacking in the parental instincts department.

For now, though, she is happy as a clam, and she follows after Karkat as he walks towards the place for ice cream.]

The lady gave me one because I'm a good girl!

[bethehugejerk]

[Yep. The concept of being a dad is as foreign to him as laying eggs is to a cat. And he was a cat once. A fluffy grey one. Vatheon is a weird place, man. Besides, he's one thing, but there's no way he could take her in when he lives with Eridan. He'd doubtlessly be worse at the parenting thing.]

Just don't try to eat both at once or you'll probably get sick. Save the sucker for later, because I am not going to deal with you if you give yourself a stomach ache.

What kind of ice cream do you like, anyway?

[Might as well ask while they're on the way.]

[fourleafed]

Vanilla! And chocolate. And strawberry. And red bean. And melon.

[She pauses for a second to think.]

I like them all, but not coffee.

[It's not quite as weird as Yotsuba thoughts are sometimes, there actually is coffee-flavored ice cream in Japan.]

[bethehugejerk]

Red bean? That's a flavor?

[He tilts his head.]

I haven't heard of melon flavor either.

[Coffee flavor doesn't sound all that weird, though, with how it can be used in other desserts.]

[fourleafed]

Yeah, they're both yummy. I like the red bean ice cream where they put the beans in the bottom and you eat them.

[bethehugejerk]

I doubt they have that at the place I'm bringing you to, or I would have heard of it by now. How about I just get you one of the cones where they swirl the vanilla and chocolate together?

[Though he is tempted to give the red bean kind a try if he ever finds it. Thanks Yotsuba.]

[fourleafed]

[It's good to try anyway, red bean ice cream is delicious.

But the prospect of a twist cone sounds agreeable to Yotsuba.]

A big cone of chocolate and vanilla?

it's been forever since I've had a twist cone

[bethehugejerk]

Big enough for you, alright? I'm not getting you a huge one when you're tiny next to me.

[He points to store they're coming up on, a little ice cream shop on the corner.]

That's the place there. Pick a place to sit when we get inside, and I'll get the cones.

The place near me does twists in chocolate/vanilla and strawberry/lemon :9

[fourleafed]

[As soon as Karkat says that, Yotsuba runs ahead, just barely hanging onto her towel and sucker. She runs into the store and hops into a seat at a table by the front window, and she waves happily to Karkat once she's seated.]

(1/2) oh man, I've never had a strawberry/lemon one. that sounds good

[bethehugejerk]

[He should have expected that.]

Damnit, don't run--!

[But there she goes. He chases after her a short distance, but you know what, screw it. She can find a spot.]

Lousy fucking kid.

[This is luckily muttered when she's out of earshot. He rubs a palm across his face, then walks the rest of the way to and into the store.]

(2/2)

[bethehugejerk]

[Once inside, he spares a glance to confirm where Yotsuba is, then heads on over to the counter for the ice cream. Soon enough he has hold of two cones, one a little larger than the other, both vanilla/chocolate twists. It sounded like a good idea. One flash of the mark on the back of his left hand for "payment", then he goes to her table.]

Here. And don't run off on me again, got it?

[He holds out the smaller cone.]

It is so delicious, it tastes like fruit loops

[fourleafed]

[She will gladly take the smaller cone, though she is totally planning on tricking Karkat later to get his ice cream too. Or at least she will plan on that until she is distracted and forgets about it.

First she takes a huge bite off the top of it, easily eating a fourth of what's visible in one bite. The rest, however, she will eat slowly.]

You said to go get a table.

[bethehugejerk]

I didn't tell you to run off like a hellbeast was after you. I said to get one once we got inside.

[He huffs, but takes a seat himself, and takes to licking at his cone. His teeth aren't really the kind for biting at it, plus he doesn't want brain freeze.]

[fourleafed]

What's a hellbeast?

[Ooh goodie it's time to learn new words!]

[bethehugejerk]

[Blink.]

Like some sort of monster. The bad kind, that eats people and doesn't do anything good to make up for it.

[He just kind of scrounged for a word really.]

[fourleafed]

[Oh whoops now she's looking out the window.]

Is there one outside? Is it gonna eat us?